1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing method for a digital camera that is provided with a photography mode for recording image data as an image file, a sound memo mode for recording sound data as a sound memo file in association with an appropriate image file, a sound recording mode for recording sound data as a sound record file independently of image data, and a reproduction mode for reproducing images or sounds.
2. Background Arts
Digital cameras have been widely used that convert optical images into digital image data through an imaging device, such as a CCD image sensor, and record a set of image data as an image file on a storage medium, such as a memory card. The images recorded on the storage medium may be reproduced on a display device of the digital camera, that is mostly an LCD panel. Some digital cameras are provided with a sound memo function for recording sounds or voices as a sound data file in association with an image file, or a voice recorder for recording sounds as a sound data file independently of image data. In that case, the digital camera is provided with a microphone for converting sounds into sound signals, and a speaker for reproducing the recorded sounds as well.
Since the image files and the sound files are recorded on the same storage medium, it is necessary to discriminate between the image files and the sound files. In order to record the image files and the sound files in different directories from each other on the same storage medium, data of linkage or correlation between a sound file and an image file must also be recorded on the storage medium when the sound file is to be associated with the image file. Such linkage data will increase the size or volume of data recorded on the storage medium. Moreover, when the image file or the sound file is to be reproduced, it is necessary to read out the linkage data concurrently to analyze it. So the linkage data will also increase the load on a data processing device of the digital camera in the reproduction mode.
On the other hand, in order to list up and reproduce the image files and the sound files in the sequence from the earlier recorded one to the later recorded one, or vise versa, regardless of whether it is an image file or a sound file, it is necessary to accompany data of a recording time or a recording sequence with each of the image files and the sound files when recording these files. In that case, however, if the recording directory for the image files and that for the sound files are different, it is necessary to rearrange the image files and the sound files into a series in accordance with the recording time or sequence data after read outing these files from the different directories. The rearranging process increases the processing load.
Even where the image files and the sound files are recorded in the same directory, if the linkage data indicating the correlation of some sound files with some image files is recorded together, an increase in the data size would not be avoidable, and it is necessary to analyze the linkage data, so the processing load would be raised.
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide a data processing method for a digital camera that avoids increasing the size or volume of data recorded on a storage medium, and reduces the load of data processing for reproduction of the image and sound files, without damaging handiness or user-friendliness of the digital camera.
To achieve the above and other objects, the present invention suggests a data processing method for a digital camera that may record image data as image files and sound data as sound files on a storage medium, wherein sound files comprise a sound memo file recorded in association with an image file, and a sound record file recorded independently, wherein a sound memo file to be associated with a designated image file is given a same file-name as the designated image file, and is attached with an extender common to the sound files, and is recorded in a same recording directory on the storage medium as the designated image file is recorded.
Since the same file name is given to the image file and the sound memo file when these files are associated with each other, while the sound memo file is attached with the extender common to the sound files, it is easy to detect the correlation between the image file and the sound memo file with reference to their file names, and discriminate the sound memo file from the image file with reference to the extender. It is also easy to discriminate between the sound record files and the sound memo file, because if there is not an image file having the same file name as a sound file in the same recording directory, that sound file can be determined as a sound record file.
According to a preferred embodiment, when an image file is selected from among files stored in a recording directory on a storage medium, a sound file having the same file-name as the selected image file has is automatically searched for among those files stored in the same recording directory, and is read out as a sound memo file associated with the selected image file.
According to another preferred embodiment, when a delete command is entered while an image is displayed on a display device of the digital camera on the basis of the selected image file, the selected image file is deleted and, if any, the sound memo file associated with the selected image file is also deleted automatically.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a data processing method for a digital camera that may record image data as image files and sound data as sound files on a storage medium, wherein sound files comprise a sound memo file recorded in association with an appropriate image file and a sound record file recorded independently, the data processing method comprising steps of determining a file number for a new image file such that the file number is not used for other image and sound files which are recorded in a recording directory on the storage medium; recording the new image file with an image file name in the recording directory, the image file name consisting of a file-name containing the file number in a predetermined format and a first extender common to any image files; determining a second file number for a new sound record file such that the file number is not used for other image and sound files which are stored in the recording directory; recording the new sound record file with a sound file name in the recording directory, the sound file name consisting of a file-name containing the second file number in the predetermined format and a second extender common to any sound files; recording a new sound memo file with a second sound file name in the recording directory, the second sound file name being obtained by attaching the second extender to a same file-name as that of an image file which the new sound memo file is to be associated with; discriminating between image files and sound files by the extenders attached to the file-names of these files; processing a sound file as a sound memo file when an image file having the same file-name as the sound file has is recorded in the same recording directory; and processing a second sound file as a sound record file when an image file having the same file-name as the second sound file has is not recorded in the same recording directory.
A file number for a new image file or a new sound record file is preferably obtained by adding xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d to a preceding file number that is given to the latest image file or the latest sound record file recorded in the recording directory. Then, the file numbers represent the time sequences of recording the respective image files and sound record files. So it becomes easy to reproduce the image files and the sound record files in a sequence relating to the recording time, regardless of whether the file is an image file or a sound record file.